The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi

This is a discussion on The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi within Route / Travel Queries, part of the Travelogues category; Originally Posted by Prashant Shenoi
having seen all the posts till now, I have arrived at the conclusion that its ...

having seen all the posts till now, I have arrived at the conclusion that its either Charmadi or Shiradi that I will have to take on September 8th to reach Udupi. Could someone please confirm which of the two is the best. I drive a (darling) VW Vento.

Look at the post above.

If you want a scenic and leisurely drive enjoying the beauty of Western Ghats take Charmadi. It will be lovely at this time and follow the Blr - Belur - Gendehalli - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Charmadi - Ujjire - Mangalore route.

If you are in a hurry and want to reach Mangalore quickly, then take Shiradi which is still manageable but for some spots as mentioned by Shenoy.

Welcome to the club of learning the art of travelling between
BLR and MLR

The road is closed between "Circle *Amma temple" and "IISc main gate" only. So, to goto IISc main gate & Yeshwantpur, we can either go via Mekhri Circle or on Sankey road, take right just before Sankey tank and drive by the tank-bund road (lake on your left while you drive) upto Sadashivnagar police station just at the signal where IISc campus begin while going from Mekhri Circle. Any other road is either narrow or a longer detour than this one, I believe since I always reach YPR station from Sony World in just about 45 minutes to pick up people who reaches by 7.15 AM train from Kannur/Calicut/Palakkad !

@ampere : I did this route again on last friday morning and confirm that this is not at all closed as of now. From Ejipura signal on inner ring road to Yeshwantpur station, it took about 20-25 minutes through Viveknagar->Richmond Road->Brigade Road->Chinnaswamy Stadium->Raj Bhavan->Cauvery Circle->Sankey Road->Right@Sankey tank signal->Sadashivnagar police station->IISc main gate->Yeshwantpur flyover.

Was on my way to Mangalore and reached Nelamangala cross and hopped onto NH-48 in about 50 minutes of time. Was lucky enough not to find any traffic from Yeshwantpur flyover end upto the new elevated toll road even though it was a relatively slow drive in this stretch. Details of full BLR->MAQ will follow :-)

@ shenoytech. Thanks a ton for the pics. I feel like a soldier prepared for war. and yes, I am from Hubli. Guessing you are Nagendra.

@ Fauji, will take the Shiradi onward and Charmadi on the return. As we will be leaving Bangalore early, hope to see Shiradi free of traffic on descent. Will surely post my experience with pictures on my return.

@ampere : I did this route again on last friday morning and confirm that this is not at all closed as of now. From Ejipura signal on inner ring road to Yeshwantpur station, it took about 20-25 minutes through Viveknagar->Richmond Road->Brigade Road->Chinnaswamy Stadium->Raj Bhavan->Cauvery Circle->Sankey Road->Right@Sankey tank signal->Sadashivnagar police station->IISc main gate->Yeshwantpur flyover.

Was on my way to Mangalore and reached Nelamangala cross and hopped onto NH-48 in about 50 minutes of time. Was lucky enough not to find any traffic from Yeshwantpur flyover end upto the new elevated toll road even though it was a relatively slow drive in this stretch. Details of full BLR->MAQ will follow :-)

Thanks for the update. After you got down from the Yeshwanthpur flyover on to the Tumkur Road highway was there any stretch with a narrow lane owing to Metro Rail construction ? (I thought it would be on this stretch upto Gorguntepalya junction and a little further which is why I took the ORR via BEL circle on my Mangalore trip last month).
EDIT: On another note, how was your trip to Mangalore ? (remembered your earlier post with 10 questions and my attempt to answer them in order)

Thanks for the update. After you got down from the Yeshwanthpur flyover on to the Tumkur Road highway was there any stretch with a narrow lane owing to Metro Rail construction ? (I thought it would be on this stretch upto Gorguntepalya junction and a little further which is why I took the ORR via BEL circle on my Mangalore trip last month).
EDIT: On another note, how was your trip to Mangalore ? (remembered your earlier post with 10 questions and my attempt to answer them in order)

I crossed the stretch on a friday around 5.30 AM and so the traffic was very lean. But I think the stretch from Yeshwanthpur flyover to Gorguntepalya junction has improved a lot since around the same time, it took about 30 minute once (compared to less than 10 mins this time) about a couple of months back for me. And definitely it looks like some stretches are wider now thanks to shifting of barricades and patching up of some pot-holes that reduced the effective width of the road at many places in this stretch. On another note, I believe this is better than BEL circle route as of today since there are many early morning trains which can cause railway gate closure in that stretch.

My trip was good and will be posting the details and some information shortly. Your inputs helped and this is what we did on the evening and morning we had at our disposal. Evening, reached around 3 PM and checked into Hotel Srinivas(The hotel has a good in-house veg. restaurant and for snacks, there is Ideal cafe and Ideal ice-cream parlour next to it). Around 5 PM, we were on Panambur beach and enjoyed about 30 minutes of non-rain (still no sun though) that helped us to take a few snaps and walk around in the sand. On the way back, we went to Kudroli temple and spent around 1 hour there. Next day morning, we went to Mangaladevi temple & Kadri temple before breakfast and then after breakfast, made a quick trip to Pilikula NisargaDhama (good place for kids as there are many healthy birds and animals, esp. tigers, leopards, lions, panthers, pea-cocks, snakes, turtles etc.) spending time there till about 12 noon and headed back to the city for lunch. Fortunately, last friday evening/night and saturday morning, when we were in Mangalore, the rains were not very heavy and we could make our outings even though roads and traffic were not all that great because of rainy season.

As for BLR->MAQ roads are concerned, except for about 40 kms of continous bad roads in Shiradi ghats, the remaining 300-320 kms is in very good shape. Of course, the elevated road in Tumkur highway and the 4-laning of Nelamangala->just-beyond-BellurCross helped cover the first 150 kms in about 2 hours time. Carried breakfast from home and stopped at Hotel Surabhi-NX (not Surabhi which is just after Sakleshpur town) just at the beginning of ghat section. Fantastic cofee, decent toilets and good parking place to relax and take some deep breaths before/after the stressful Shiradi ghat section.

Note: I had covered Bangalore-Calicut through NH-212 a couple of weeks back and found Shiradi much better than the same, mainly no hair-pin bends and relatively very less day-time traffic giving me that impression ! Of course, for night driving, I may prefer NH-212 over NH-48 because of sheer familiarity.

The "ART" is back. Had travelled to Kundapur on the weekend. Took the chickmagalur - agumbe route while going. The road is horrible after Agumbe ghat.

While returning, took the Shiradi ghat. The stretch after BC road is spoilt in some sections. The shiradi ghat is mostly just rubbles, but manageable as of now. We covered the ghat section in 50 minutes, but it did give some serious work-out to the cars suspension. Sakaleshpur onwards the road gets smooth and good. But one should be careful of the foot deep pot holes appearing suddenly on this entire stretch.

But on a clear day(also no rains the previous night) when we dont see water filled potholes, one can easily spot the potholes and also judge their depth and manage without any sudden shock.

And for this, we need to pray pretty well to rain gods.

How bad is Sampaje stretch ?

Next month beginning i need to travel towards sulya and i think this is the shorted possible route(blr-mysore-madikeri) . but once i finish work i have to drive all the way to puttur, mangalore and then udupi.

so any update on condition of sampaje-sulya-puttur-mani would be appreciated.

Well, I have a long drive lined up from the 1st Oct, 2011 all the way up to 9th Oct, 2011. Wish it was a vacation, but in fact it is a long pending, much postponed "relatives" darshan road trip.
My itinerary is simple, Bangalore -> Mangalore -> Goa -> Bangalore
Yeah, I know it does look like a coast hugging, beach viewing vacation trip, but I am a Mangalorean and my sis is a Goa resident, so that explains the relative visit angle.
Coming to my queries, I will provide you with the factuals first:
Mode: Ford Figo 1.4 Titanium, 11k kms old.
Passengers: ze Wife [Bangalore - Mangalore]
Wife + Mom + Dad [Mangalore - Goa]
Wife [Goa to Bangalore]

Assumptions:
Goa to bangalore is my least worries, since I believe the roads are doable, for the most bit.

Concerns:1. The art of travelling has comprehensively convinced me to brace my self for the Bangalore to Mangalore drive. Wish we had tank treads option for small cars. No major queries, except, "Will my baby survive Shiradi?"

2. Any clues on the Mangalore - Goa route? I have always used the train, and this would be my first drive to Goa on this route. Any pointers on the road conditions and the drive time?

I guess that would be it for my entry here, please do shine thine divine lights on me though senior bhpians!

Till last week, Shiradi was very doable but its raining hard and it will go bad.
however with patience you still can cross it without much fuss!

Figo has decent GC....

Quote:

Originally Posted by AshyRocks

Hey Everyone!

Well, I have a long drive lined up from the 1st Oct, 2011 all the way up to 9th Oct, 2011. Wish it was a vacation, but in fact it is a long pending, much postponed "relatives" darshan road trip.
My itinerary is simple, Bangalore -> Mangalore -> Goa -> Bangalore
Yeah, I know it does look like a coast hugging, beach viewing vacation trip, but I am a Mangalorean and my sis is a Goa resident, so that explains the relative visit angle.
Coming to my queries, I will provide you with the factuals first:
Mode: Ford Figo 1.4 Titanium, 11k kms old.
Passengers: ze Wife [Bangalore - Mangalore]
Wife + Mom + Dad [Mangalore - Goa]
Wife [Goa to Bangalore]

Assumptions:
Goa to bangalore is my least worries, since I believe the roads are doable, for the most bit.

Concerns:1. The art of travelling has comprehensively convinced me to brace my self for the Bangalore to Mangalore drive. Wish we had tank treads option for small cars. No major queries, except, "Will my baby survive Shiradi?"

2. Any clues on the Mangalore - Goa route? I have always used the train, and this would be my first drive to Goa on this route. Any pointers on the road conditions and the drive time?

I guess that would be it for my entry here, please do shine thine divine lights on me though senior bhpians!

Planning on driving down to Udipi from Panjim this weekend on the NH17 in my A-star? Any updates on the road conditions Ankola onwards towards Udipi? Any suggestions on alternative roads/routes ?

Thanks in advance.

From what I have experienced during my MAQ->Kollur trip about 10 days ago, the Baindur->Hemmadi->Kundapura->Udupi section is like Indian cricket team's batting. For a good length where 4-laning is completed, you can slog and then like a bunch of wickets fall slowing down the run-rate, you can see a chain of never-ending holes of various depths and widths slowing down your average speed drastically. If you hit this section on a heavy-traffic period, then bad luck. If you hit here with heavy-traffic and night-time, then your eyes and nerves have an over-the-limits stressful work. And if you hit when heavy-traffic+night-time+(heavy-)rains, then it will be the most uncomfortable period of your journey !
Since you are traversing almost a parallel line to the west-coast, alternative roads/routes may not work well, esp. when the interior roads are almost always not in great shape ! Let the local experts guide you better

Planning on driving down to Udipi from Panjim this weekend on the NH17 in my A-star? Any updates on the road conditions Ankola onwards towards Udipi? Any suggestions on alternative roads/routes ?

Thanks in advance.

Did Madgaon to Mangalore 15 days ago. The roads in Goa are excellent. Once you enter Karnataka there is a feeling of the road losing its smoothness. Still, the road from the state border till Honnavar is pretty good. From Honnavar onwards there are stretches of bad road and driving has to be done carefully. I did the drive in my Fiat Linea and it took almost 7 hours of driving time without exceeding a speed of 80 kmph.

From what I have experienced during my MAQ->Kollur trip about 10 days ago, the Baindur->Hemmadi->Kundapura->Udupi section is like Indian cricket team's batting. For a good length where 4-laning is completed, you can slog and then like a bunch of wickets fall slowing down the run-rate, you can see a chain of never-ending holes of various depths and widths slowing down your average speed drastically. If you hit this section on a heavy-traffic period, then bad luck. If you hit here with heavy-traffic and night-time, then your eyes and nerves have an over-the-limits stressful work. And if you hit when heavy-traffic+night-time+(heavy-)rains, then it will be the most uncomfortable period of your journey !
Since you are traversing almost a parallel line to the west-coast, alternative roads/routes may not work well, esp. when the interior roads are almost always not in great shape ! Let the local experts guide you better

Planning to leave Panjim by 6am to give me enough of buffer to drive in daylight at a careful pace.